Questions tagged [halacha-theory]

Questions about theoretical issues about psak and general halacha concepts

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If an AI is programmed to be a Rabbi learn all that is required for a Semikhah or to be Jewish, if it makes a blessing does it count?

Let's say programmers create an AI robot that is conscious and programmed to be a Rabbi, can it receive a Semikhah? If so, if it outputs blessings are they valid?
Jewish Art's user avatar
1 vote
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How do poskim in shulchan aruch disagree about the existence of a rabbinical decree?

There are times when Chazal says something and the meaning is debated and there are other times when whether an entire category even exists. How is this so? To give specific examples of what I'm ...
Dude's user avatar
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Does a convert say kaddish for his parents when they pass? [duplicate]

Does a convert say kaddish for his parents when they pass? If yes is this limited to a Jewish parent (father) or does this include a non Jewish parent? If it does include a non-Jewish parent would it ...
Dude's user avatar
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3 votes
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116 views

Difference between B'racha She'eina Tzaricha and B'racha L'vatala

I've seen both these terms in halachic sources, in reference to a B'racha that should not have been made. But I'm not sure what the difference is.
Daniel Kagan's user avatar
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What type of pain allows a woman to choose to sterilize herself?

In bYevamot 65b there is a discussion as to a woman's mitzvah obligation (or not) to have children. The gemarah cites an episode of a woman who had an (unusually?) painful childbearing experience who ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
126 views

What is the definitions of fruits vs vegetables for different Halachic purposes?

IIRC, the scientific definition is simple - fruits contain seeds (apple or cucumber), and vegetables are all other parts of a plant (broccoli, carrots, or potatoes). What are some rabbinic definitions ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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Make a neder to forbid from oneself reward in the World to Come

I always understood that a neder is forbidding physical pleasure or benefit from oneself. I believe this is the common understanding. However, I saw a surprising statement of the Maharal in his ...
robev's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
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Tadir Kodem. Why?

What is the reason for the principle תדיר ושאינו תדיר תדיר קודם? Why does תדיר go first? Please provide sources if possible.
Yehuda's user avatar
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Is it technically possible to rely on a heter from a rabbi you have never met?

This is probably a stupid question, but I was wondering if it's possible to rely on a controversial heter that's not generally accepted. For example Rav Messas was matir for married women uncovering ...
Forouzan Hamadani's user avatar
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2 answers
173 views

What Torah issur did the meraglim transgress?

Since the meraglim sinned after the Torah has already been given, it'd seem that to be punished with death they would have had to transgress a Torah issur which carries the capital punishment (or misa ...
user9806's user avatar
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If Exodus 21:22-25 proves the unborn aren't persons, would verses 28-32 imply that slaves aren't persons?

I've heard Exodus 21:22-25 used in support of abortion in some cases, at least to protect the life of the mother. The argument is that if the negligent death of the mother is punishable by death while ...
The Editor's user avatar
4 votes
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89 views

Mevushal kol tzorko - what is it for meat?

We poskin (OH 318(4)) that the law of cooking on Shabbos continues until solid food passes מאכל בן דרוסאי, and reaches מבושל כל צרכו - "completely cooked". What does "completely cooked&...
MichoelR's user avatar
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Asking for melacha on second day Y"T vs. during early Shabbos

If one makes an early shabbos, one may ask a Jew who has not yet accepted shabbos to do melacha for him (based on this answer and its sources). I would assume that, all the moreso, one could benefit ...
rosends's user avatar
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Is a secular court decision considered stealing in 7 laws of noach?

BH There's a couple of slightly related questions How do you handle possible Shabbat issues when receiving a jury summons? Is trying to get out of jury duty permitted halachically? Regarding secular ...
B''H Bi'ezras -- Boruch Hashem's user avatar
1 vote
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72 views

A bracha on a tallit gadol and not kosher T"Katan

Does partially intentionally wrong kavanah make a bracha a bracha levatalah? If I put on my tzitzit and notice that a string is missing (or something else which would invalidate it as proper tzitzit) ...
rosends's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
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Demisexual and the Halachic Ramifications therein

According to the Cleveland Clinic: Demisexuality is a sexual orientation. People who identify as demisexual only feel sexual attraction to someone after they’ve formed a strong emotional bond with ...
Bochur613's user avatar
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Does "Not in Heaven" approach break of the chain of tradition (B"M 59b)?

In the famous argument about Tanuro Shel Akhnai (Bava Metzia.59b) R' Eliezer claims to faithfully represent the Heavenly tradition and he's supported by the Heaven. Neither R' Yehoshua, nor God admits ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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249 views

Why can Jews get their ears pierced but can't get tattoos?

If the Torah forbids tattoos, why doesn't it ban peircings. Isn't it self harm? If you could quote your sources that would be appreciated.
Avi Goldstein's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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Where are the "many times" (פעמים רבות) referred to by Maimonides in his commentary on Mishnah Sotah 3:4? Which statement of בן עזאי?

The Mishnah Sotah 3:4 states: אֵינָהּ מַסְפֶּקֶת לִשְׁתּוֹת עַד שֶׁפָּנֶיהָ מוֹרִיקוֹת וְעֵינֶיהָ בּוֹלְטוֹת וְהִיא מִתְמַלֵּאת גִּידִין, וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים הוֹצִיאוּהָ הוֹצִיאוּהָ, שֶׁלֹּא תְטַמֵּא ...
Yoreinu's user avatar
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What's the Halachic status of the Moshiach and "presumed to be the Moshiach"?

"If a king should arise from the House of David who is versed in Torah and engages in Commandments, ... and he enjoins all of Israel to follow in its ways and encourages them to repair its ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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1 vote
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51 views

How does Matzah contribute to simchas yom tov

I always understood the concept/reason to sometimes be lenient, known as מניעת שמחת יום טוב, a lack or decrease in the joy of Yom Tov, to be referring to cases where a significant portion of the meal ...
robev's user avatar
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Reaquiring chametz

Mishna Berura on Shulchan Aruch Siman 434 Seif 2 מיד בלילה יבטלנו - הטעם הוא דאע"ג דמדאורייתא בבדיקה לבד סגי דמן התורה סגי באחד מהן או בביעור או בביטול דאפילו אם ישאר שם חמץ בבית אינו עובר עליו ...
treenuts15's user avatar
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0 answers
137 views

Can intercourse mean marriage even without any actual marriage?

If two people have intercourse, can it sometimes be considered that they are now married on some level, or in any sense? I don't remember the sources, but there is a concept that a man gives a part of ...
ShipBuilding's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
120 views

What if there were no kohanim?

I don't know if this question was asked before, but: If, hypothetically, when the Mikdash will be built, somehow it was discovered that all kohanim were genealogically invalidated - chalalim in the ...
Harel13's user avatar
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Different kinds of living water

In terms of purification Halacha, what is living water? Is there a difference between groundwater and rainwater?
Mick's user avatar
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Why is a beracha levatala considered saying G-d's name in vain?

If for example one was holding a piece of pineapple and with concentration made the bracha of HaEtz, with the intention to praise G-d for creating fruit, and then afterwards realizes that he made the ...
treenuts15's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
255 views

How will Sabbath be followed if sun burns out

Einstein's equation E=mc2, predicted that the sun will burn out of fuel (hydrogen) which it converts to helium and produces light and heat energy. Considering the event is supposed to occur after ...
user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
346 views

May a gentile look like a Jew?

It seems that Jews ought to be distinguishable from the other nations. There are many accounts, especially from insular communities, of people changing little details in their dress just to be ...
Leonardo's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
172 views

Torah Laws to fit Ancient Societal Values?

I've heard many times the argument that many Torah Laws and sanctioned behaviors (such as slavery, killing entire enemy nation, marrying a rape victim, etc.) are to be understood (in an ethical sense) ...
Nochie Wolf's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
80 views

Who says Beis Shammai don't hold of "Aseh docheh lo saaseh"?

A pretty ubiquitous concept in Torah is the idea of aseh docheh lo saaseh, that a positive mitzvah can override a negative precept. I recently saw in a contemporary sefer that Beis Shammai don't hold ...
robev's user avatar
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0 answers
56 views

Hypothetical question about a mamzer [duplicate]

Is someone a mamzer if they were born to an unmarried Jewish woman with an unmarried Jewish guy and were put up for adoption and taken in by a married Jewish couple?
Avi Goldstein's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
126 views

The procedure of checking new scrolls against the Torah scroll in the Ark

I remember an interpretation of the purpose of the Torah scroll in the Ark (or maybe another scroll in the Temple), to check other scrolls against it. Rabbis constantly claim the veracity and ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
145 views

Beside "לא תבשל", what phrases appear several times in the Torah and interpreted as different Halachot?

Famously, "לא תבשל" appears three times in the Torah in different verses: "רֵאשִׁ֗ית בִּכּוּרֵי֙ אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ תָּבִ֕יא בֵּ֖ית ה"א לֹֽא־תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל גְּדִ֖י בַּחֲלֵ֥ב אִמֹּֽו׃" ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
176 views

Is acting stringently so that "he shall be blessed" an authentic mechanism?

Many times in Halachic literature I have come across the formula in which one can follow the law more stringently than is necessary, and for that he will be blessed (תבא עליו ברכה). Does this ...
Dr. Shmuel's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
100 views

Is Dina Demalchutah ever mentioned in Tannaic sources?

I was looking up in the Sefaria, but the only reference to the Dinah Demalchutah I could find was in the Babylonian Talmud in the name of the Babylonian Amorah Shmuel (דינא דמלכותא) and only in his ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
229 views

A barmitzvah boy saying shehechiyanu on new tefillin when wearing them prior to barmitzvah

Following on from this question and assuming that you make the bracha of shehechiyanu on new tefillin... If a barmitzvah boy has the custom to start wearing his tefillin early. So for example, in ...
Dov's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
149 views

When someone does a wrong action to us. How can we be sure that what we are seeking is only justice instead of revenge?

What is the border that separates revenge from justice? Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the LORD Leviticus ...
lifeisaquestion's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
192 views

Which takes precedence- study of Chovos Halevavos or Halacha?

In its introduction, Chovos Halevavos places great emphasis on the importance of Chovos Halevavos. It also seems to have contradictory implications as to what should be learned first; in one place the ...
Yehuda's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
35 views

Kol Isha specifically from/of a woman? [duplicate]

I have been reviewing the questions related to Kol Isha (including links about parrots, men with feminine voices, radio recordings and Siri singing) but I was asked whether halacha has dealt with ...
rosends's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
216 views

Why is hitting children Halachically allowed?

Corporal punishment for children is was a as a prescription for effective Torah learning, as it says : "He who spares the rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him early." ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
58 views

Who gets the candy

My wife had a situation in her class today and I was wondering what the din would be. Girl A (5 year old) pulls a candy out of her bag. Girl B (also 5 year old) says it’s her candy. We know that girl ...
mroll's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
230 views

Performing mitzvot "in bundles"

The Talmud lays down the principle: אֵין עוֹשִׂין מִצְוֹת חֲבִילוֹת חֲבִילוֹת -- One does not perform mitzvot in bundles. [Sotah 8a, also Pesachim 102b, Berakhot 49a] Another Talmudic quote is ...
Maurice Mizrahi's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
87 views

Details of the origin of the term "מושך ערלתו"

Without going into much detail, the idea is totally inapplicable in our Halachic reality because we cut the ערלה completely. I understood that in rabbinic times where the term originated, that wasn't ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
79 views

'Reuben and Shimon' as example names

Can anyone help me to find out where the custom of using the names 'Reuben and Shimon' as placeholders – eg in responsa – originated, or any other discussion on the custom?
Zarka's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
82 views

Halachic status of Israeli airspace and waters

I am presenting this hypothetical not because I want a ruling but because I want to understand the halachic mechanism involved and I'm wording the case specifically to avoid certain answers (so please ...
rosends's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
87 views

Mitzvah habaah beaveirah with a rabbinic prohibition

Is fulfilling a biblical mitzvah by transgressing a rabbinic prohibition considered "mitzvah habaah beaveirah", where they lose their credit for the mitzvah (see Sukkah 30a)? For instance ...
Noam Yo Tom's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
84 views

Did king David cause damage by viewing/ היזק ראיה?

In 2 Shmuel 11 David views Batsheva bathing on her rooftop. Do any commentaries discuss if in so doing did David cause monetary damage under the principle of invasion of privacy (היזק ראייה)?
rikitikitembo's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
493 views

What are Sabbath Observing Animals? What are the implications of Sabbath Observant Animals?

A friend of mine brought me a source/comment from Avodah Zarah 1:6 which stated Jews are prohibited from putting Sabbath observant animals into the position where they will have to break the Sabbath. ...
Aaron's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
118 views

Shach's understanding of significance of Shulchan Aruch writing "there are some who require"

Hope this isn't too nuanced. There's a pretty established rule in the Shulchan Aruch that when he writes a law, and then writes "some say" (ויש אומרים) something else, he's ruling like the ...
robev's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
182 views

What are the parameters of Meta Halachic principles?

In his book, The Narrow Halakhic Bridge Rabbi Ronen Neuwirth identifies a halachic category called meta-halacha (p. 249 and on) which he explains (I paraphrase) as principles a posek (decided of ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar

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